Maytapi
Maytapi/Unofficial API/Comparison
ComparisonMaytapi vs WhatsApp Business APIMaytapi vs the WhatsApp Business API (Cloud API)
The WhatsApp Business API, now delivered as Meta's Cloud API, is the official route: approval, templates and per-message pricing. Maytapi is an unofficial API on your existing number with a flat price. Here is the full comparison.
Feature by feature: Maytapi vs WhatsApp Business API
| Maytapi | WhatsApp Business API | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing & onboarding | ||
| Cost model | Flat price per number, unlimited messages | Per delivered template message, by category and country |
| Service conversations | Included | 1,000 free service messages per number per month since October 2026, then charged |
| Monthly bill | Same every month | Changes with volume, message category and country |
| Getting started | Scan a QR code, about 10 minutes | Meta Business account, display-name review, number registration |
| Templates | Not needed for any message | Required outside the 24-hour customer service window |
| Testing | 3-day trial and a free Sandbox plan | Test number in the Meta developer console |
| Features & access | ||
| Groups | Create, manage and message groups | Groups API: up to 8 participants, Official Business Accounts only |
| Channels and stories | Post to channels, publish stories | Not available |
| Communities | Included | Not available |
| Check if a number has WhatsApp | Included | Not available |
| Phone app on the same number | Yes, the API is a linked device | Only through coexistence with the WhatsApp Business app |
| Buttons and lists | Any time, no template | Inside the 24-hour window; templates outside it |
| Catalog and products | Manage the catalog and send products through the API | Product messages from a Commerce Manager catalog |
| Voice calls | Not available | Calling API |
| Risk & operations | ||
| Who reviews your messages | Nobody; your sending behaviour decides | Meta reviews templates and the display name |
| How restrictions work | A number that behaves like spam can be restricted by WhatsApp | Quality rating and messaging limits per number |
| Protecting a new number | Safe Mode warm-up | Messaging limits that grow with quality |
| Green tick | No | Available |
| Operated by Meta, official support | No | Yes |
Competitor details come from their public pages and repositories, checked October 2026. Prices and features change; tell us if something here is out of date.
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Predictable bills
One price per number, however many messages you send and wherever your customers are.
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Live the same day
Scan a QR code and send; no business review, no template queue.
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The whole of WhatsApp
Groups, channels, communities, stories and number checks that the Cloud API does not offer.
If you need the green tick, voice calls, Meta-run infrastructure or Click-to-WhatsApp ads tied to your number, the official WhatsApp Business API is the right tool. Many teams run both, on different numbers.
Moving to Maytapi takes an afternoon
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[ 01 ]
Start the free trial
Create an account; every endpoint is open for three days without a card.
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[ 02 ]
Pair the same number
Unlink it from the old service, then scan the QR code in the Maytapi dashboard.
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[ 03 ]
Point your code at Maytapi
Swap the base URL and token, map the message types and set your webhook URL.
Questions about switching
Ask our support team anything over WhatsApp. Average response time is under 24 hours.
Is the WhatsApp Business API the same as the Cloud API?
Today, yes. Meta delivers the WhatsApp Business API through the Cloud API; the older On-Premises API has been retired.
Can I use Maytapi and the WhatsApp Business API together?
Yes, on different numbers. Many teams send templated campaigns from an official number and run groups and support from a Maytapi number.
Is the unofficial API less reliable?
Maytapi has 99.98% uptime over the last 12 months and handles more than 24 million requests a day. The difference is who operates it, not whether it works.
What about bans?
Numbers that behave like spam get restricted on any route. Safe Mode warms up new numbers and our guide explains how to keep a number healthy.
Other comparisons
Get your key, send your first message in ten minutes
No approval, no templates, no card. Every endpoint is open for three days.